The alleged murderer of an elderly pastor whose body was found in a fire-ravaged home will use the deceased man's age to contest his cause of death.
Emergency services found the body of 80-year-old former pastor and music teacher Edward "Ted" Grantham after a fire in a Croydon home in Sydney's inner west on May 29, 2025.
After a 15-hour manhunt, his son was arrested on board a NSW Central Coast train allegedly carrying a machete stuffed down his pants.
Police accuse Christopher David Grantham, 50, of setting the home alight and murdering his father, before robbing a service station with the weapon, demanding a packet of cigarettes.
On Wednesday, police prosecutors told Burwood Local Court that Grantham's lawyers would contest the cause of Ted Grantham's death due to his age.
A post-mortem report has yet to be delivered to the NSW Police Force, the court was told.
The 50-year-old has not yet entered pleas to charges of murder, intentionally or recklessly damaging property with an intent to endanger life and armed robbery.
His case will return to Burwood courthouse on February 11.
Police allege Grantham used an accelerant to start the fire.
Six trucks and almost two dozen firefighters responded to the blaze, entering the back of the property due to the "intense" flames at the front of the single-story, red-brick house.
Part of the roof collapsed as firefighters were inside, forcing them to retreat, Fire and Rescue NSW said.
Footage taken after the blaze was extinguished showed a large portion of the roof caved in and firefighters examining other parts of the Irrara Street home.
Ted Grantham's choir held a tribute concert to the "valued and much-loved member" at St Mary's Cathedral in November 2025.